It may still feel like an icebox in Minnesota, but eventually this icebox will thaw; the trees will begin to bud, songbirds will return from tropical vacations and tulips will poke up through the ground.

While signs of spring are about as visible as a pair of flip-flops buried under a snow bank, at least there is hope -- and hope may prove beneficial as the Twin Cities endure one of the most painful winters in modern history.

This meteorological winter, the coldest in a generation, ended Friday.

The average temperature from Dec. 1 through Thursday was 9.8 degrees at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. That's the coldest meteorological winter since 1978-79 and the ninth-coldest in records going back to 1871.

It was news to 27-year-old Josh Bodine that this was the coldest winter of his lifetime. But not a surprise.

"I suspected it," Bodine said on Friday as he waited in light snow and single-digit temperatures at a bus stop in downtown St. Paul. "I'm ready for it to be over. I'm definitely ready for it to be done."

This winter is even more of an aberration when considering the number of days that have seen below-zero temperatures. There were 47 in the Twin Cities -- enough for the fourth-most on record and the most since the winter of 1935-36, according to the National Weather Service office in Chanhassen.

"It's quite astonishing. We could even come close to being in the top 10, let alone number four on the list," said weather service meteorologist Tony Zaleski.

Zaleski noted that the Twin Cities are significantly more developed now compared with many of the other years on the list, and that development adds to the heat island effect, which keeps the metro warmer than surrounding areas.

One cost of the cold weather is showing up in heating bills. In November, before the arctic air set its sights on Minnesota, Xcel Energy was predicting heating costs to rise an average of 20 percent for metro residents this heating season compared with last year, said Tom Hoen, spokesman for the utility.

That rise was owed to increased natural gas costs and increased usage, Hoen said. But usage has been up compared to fall predictions; in December, it was up 19 percent compared to the previous December, and January was up 17 percent.

"There are customers that are going to see a bigger increase and customers that are going to see less of an increase," said Hoen, adding that a customer's individual usage will play a role.

It's not just houses and toes that felt a big chill the past few months.

This winter, even the snow's been cold.

The Twin Cities saw 57.2 inches of snow through Thursday. And although that's nearly 16 inches above average, the real surprise has been how much of it has stuck around, thanks largely to frigid temperatures.

McKenna Bernard, left, a senior biology major at Macalester College, and her brother Thomas, visiting from Illinois, shuck off the wind chill to try out the ice patio furniture in front of The Groveland Tap on St. Clair Avenue in St. Paul on Thursday, February 27, 2014. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi)

By Friday, the snow depth had decreased to 20 inches -- still more than the Twin Cities have seen since 2001 -- and the ice that accompanied the latest snowfall continued to cause problems for motorists, as the cold prevented deicing chemicals from working effectively on roads.

But the lack of snowmelt hasn't been all bad.

Fog and cloud cover can develop from the moisture released by melting snow, and a lot of that can make for a gloomy winter, said Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist.

"We've had spells like that in many winters, where you have clouds and fog, and that's what's missing this winter," he said. "So it's a trade-off. We had the extreme cold, but we didn't have the week of fog either. It's one bright spot.

Collin Ludwig blew his way through his sidewalk and driveway before going to work in Stillwater on Friday, February 21, 2014. (Pioneer Press: Jean Pieri)

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The past two winters, which were relatively mild, both had about a week more of cloudy days compared to this winter, according to weather service data.

A bit more sun probably won't be enough to cure most folks' winter blues, however.

For weather service meteor-ologists, the question they're hearing most this winter is: "When's it going to get warm?" Zaleski said.

Although the standards for "warm" have been lowered considerably over the past few months, temperatures are forecast to get into the 20s Wednesday and Thursday. That's still below normal for this time of year, but it should be a welcome change from what's in store for this weekend.

Saturday's high is forecast near 4 degrees, with wind chills as low as minus 20. Even colder wind chills are expected overnight, and Sunday's high is expected near 1, with wind chills as low as minus 32. Both days should see lows below zero.

The cold and snow on Friday didn't slow St. Paul public works employee John Johnson, who hacked away at ice near a bus stop, grunting lightly with each strike of his pry bar.

"I shovel, and I shovel well, so I usually do all the steps and the choppin', " he said. "Yeah, it's tough, it is. Good thing I own a boxing gym, so I stay in shape."

Johnson lamented that as soon as his crew was finished with a job this year, another storm came and laid down a layer of snow or ice.